Happily Ever Afters
by Tesserakt
Summary: Aura has been awoken and Tsukasa is able to log out, and all seems well. Yet will the participants in that battle be able to cope with the consequences of their feelings? Will each of them be able to have their Happily Ever Afters?
1. First and Last Stand

First and Last Stand

An auburn-haired girl stood in front of an apartment door, her hand hesitating over the doorbell. Her father hadn't come to the hospital to pick her up, so she had relied on Bear, or, more precisely, Ryo Sakuma, the man that she had met as Bear inside the virtual reality known as The World, to take her home. Yet, so close, she was stopped by fear and doubt. She didn't have to do this, there were other ways. Nobody wanted her to go inside that apartment. She could go back down and into Ryo's car, and be safe. Yet, deep down, she knew why she had taken this decision, why she really had to do it. She had to stand up to him, at least this once, she had to leave this home, not be taken away. If not, the memories would hang like a shadow over her forever.

She faintly heard the bell ringing inside when she pressed the button. She put her hand in her pocket, feeling the object inside there, to reassure herself. When the door opened and a familiar man in his early forties glared at her from inside, she quickly put her hand away from the object.

"How did you get here?" the scowling man asked her, "because I'm not paying your taxi or anything"

_I wasn't expecting you to_, she thought. The imagined response was cocky, but the truth was she was nearly quivering in fear under the gaze of her father. She wanted to run away, run down to Ryo. He would protect her. Yet she had to see this through to the end.

"I made my own way," she said, trying to keep her voice as emotionless as possible.

"Well, at least you seem to be able to do _something_" her father said. He paused for a moment before grabbing her arm an pulling her inside.

She had barely kept herself from screaming when he had grabbed her, and now she frantically tried to seem calm as almost overwhelming panic washed over her. Memories of fear filled every corner of this house, and they came rushing to her mind like a rain of painful arrows.

"It seems I'm going to have to take care of you some more," said her father, irritated, "you could've stayed in that coma, you know"

Those last words hurt her more than either her father or herself had imagined. She had expected her father to say something of the sort, of course, but to hear him, to hear those words… it made her feel very lonely. She took a deep breath and answered him, as calmly as she could:

"You won't have to worry about that. I'm just here to pick up my things"

He had half turned away to look at something on the television, but his head immediately turned round again as he shouted at her, "WHAT?"

"I'm leaving"

The impact came before even she had time to brace herself. He was strong, stronger than she had remembered. The punch threw her against the door and from there she collapsed onto the floor. Her vision was blurred, both from the jar of the impact and from the tears that threatened to overflow in her eyes. Her head was filled with searing pain, but her heart and soul had received the worst of the impact. She felt dejected, hated. The only person left of her family was this man who preferred her in hospital and when she came home hit her. Blood trickled out of her mouth, she seemed to have bit her tongue. The metallic taste filled her senses, and seemed to go perfectly well with her miserable emotions. Yet she would not give him the pleasure of seeing her cry. She wiped the dampness from her eyes and looked up at him.

"I'm leaving"

He seemed surprised she answered back, and almost hit her again, but then turned away and said angrily:

"Do whatever you want, you'll come back here crying after a few hours"

So she slowly got up and walked into the bathroom, spitting a considerable amount of blood into the sink. She let the water rinse the blood away, and then she splashed her face with the icy liquid. She walked into her room, finding it exactly the way she had left it the last time she had been here, when she had logged into The World using the computer that lay on the desk in front of her, and wasn't able to log out again. She sighed and packed the most important things into a bag. Her computer went in, along with her copy of The World, even though the idea of playing that game again sent shivers up her spine. A photograph of her mother went in, the last item she conserved of her. The rest was mostly her clothes and other things like that. She had few things from this room she wanted to even remember, much less keep.

Her father glared at her as she opened the door slowly.

"If you go out that door, when you come back you'll wish you'd never been born" he threatened.

She turned back to him as she stepped out, and her hand removed the object from her pocket and pressed a button on it. As her father looked at her in surprise, she pressed another one, and a familiar voice said a familiar phrase, slightly distorted by the recording.

_"If you go out that door, when you come back you'll wish you'd never been born"_

"Everything's recorded," she said, "I think it will be enough. Goodbye, father, and see you in court."

She slammed the door in his face, and ran down the stairs. She had just severed the last connection to her family, the last connection to her mother. Rage and sadness boiled up inside her and out of her eyes as she ran down the stairs, ran out of the building and into Ryo Sakuma's arms, looking for the fatherly comfort she had never got from the man she had just left.


	2. The Spring is Coming

The Spring Is Coming

_shine__, bright morning light_

_now__ in the air the spring is coming_

A young, white-haired Wavemaster sat under the shadow of a tree. He no longer felt the grass he was sitting on, or the breeze that was stroking his face. He was free now, but what did that freedom mean? It meant that he could no longer feel Subaru close to him again, like he had done when she had come crying to him in that cave… it seemed so long ago, but just a few weeks had passed since he had been able to log out from the World, since he had seen Subaru in the real world. The real Subaru, trapped in a wheelchair, had been even more beautiful than the high-class lady with wings, because she was real, so real…

_"She doesn't love you, Tsukasa, you may be a guy in here, but outside you aren't, and you know what that means," _a cruel voice taunted him from inside his mind.

_"But I love her, here and in the other world, what does that make me?"_ he asked himself. Yet he found no answer. He didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore. He couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop torturing himself about it. Today he had finally got enough courage to log into The World and contact her, asking her to come.

_"She won't come, why would she? She just pitied you, nothing more"_

Tsukasa buried his head in his hands, trying in vain to clear his mind of doubts.

_sweet__ blowing wind_

_singing__ down the hills and valleys_

An elegant girl with turquoise hair and amber eyes watched the young Wavemaster from afar, behind him. She had never been able to feel him, to feel his warmth, and she had envied him because of it. Yet when they had met in the real world she was too afraid, too afraid that she was wrong, that she hadn't embraced the brown-haired girl that had come out of the hospital, even though she had wanted to so much.

_"You're a cripple, you can't move from a wheelchair, who's going to love you? Not Tsukasa, certainly, whatever her character is like, she's a girl and you know it, what does that make you?" _her inner voice taunted her.

She had to do something though, she couldn't just stay here, at the edge of sight, forever. Tsukasa had called her, and if she had come this far… she could go a few steps closer.

_"Not in the real world you can't, not _steps. _How can you delude yourself like this?"_

Subaru shook her head, trying to shut off her inner voice, and walked towards him.

_keep__ your eyes on me_

_now__ we are on the edge of hell_

Tsukasa looked round when he heard a noise beside him. There was the person he had been dreaming of all this time, slowly sitting down beside him. Her face, her hair, her eyes…

"Hello… Tsukasa"

…her voice. They were all beautiful. Yet he could never, ever, tell her that, could he? That would end any chance of being around her as soon as the words left his lips. Or would it? He had to know… he had to risk it all. He needed her, needed to touch her, to hold her… but he couldn't do it.

"Hello… Subaru"

She looked into his eyes, and he thought he could see a longing there, or was it just the reflection of his own? She smiled at him, and he knew he would do anything to hold that smile in his memory for all eternity.

"We… always used to meet here, didn't we?" she asked softly.

Yes, of course they did, how could he forget? Subaru leaning against his shoulder, none of them speaking, because no words were needed, just bathing in the ecstasy that was to feel her warmth touching him. Yet now… never again would he have that feeling.

"Yes, we did" he answered, with a touch of longing escaping into his voice.

She looked at him for a long moment, and he gazed into her hazel eyes as if they were the last thing left in the universe. Then, finally, she spoke.

"And do you remember when I told you it didn't matter how you were in the real world, Tsukasa? Do you remember that?"

Yes. Now he remembered what the cruel voice in his head was trying to hide from him. She had said it didn't matter, she had said it was his soul… _her_ soul that had touched her. Touched her heart. He gently put his hand over hers.

"Yes, I do"

She closed her hand around his and leaned against his shoulder, sighing. Then she looked up into his eyes again.

"I love you, Tsukasa"

He put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. New and wild feelings welled up inside him, and spilled out of his lips:

"I love you too"

And with that they pressed their lips together, and felt their mutual warmth. And the scent of newfound love, like a field of flowers open in spring, overwhelmed them. And they tasted each other, the ambrosia of lovers.

_dear__ my love, sweet morning light_

_wait__ for me, you've gone much farther, too far_

From far above, floating away from sight, but seeing perfectly, a small, white-haired girl saw the two lives, two destinies, entwine into one, and saw it good.


	3. Shimokitazawa Part 1

Jose Bach Hardie Jose Bach Hardie 2 6 2004-06-14T16:03:00Z 2004-06-14T16:03:00Z 1 925 5092 Jupiter Corp. 42 12 6005 10.2625 Clean Clean 21 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 

Shimokitazawa

Ann Shoji slowly removed the headset that enabled her to go into the virtual reality that was The World and stared at her computer screen in front of her, without really seeing it. What she had just experienced had left her full of as much doubts as joy. How would they see each other in the real world? What would Ryo, her new father, say if he found out? It was so unfair, that they would have to hide their happiness to be able to keep it. She was tired of running and hiding, first in the virtual World and now in this one. Yet no other choice seemed to be available to them. She sighed and shut down her computer. She was about to go out of her room when she heard the phone ringing behind her. She turned around and looked at the machine, puzzled. Nobody knew her number except Ryo, and she wasn't expecting a call from him. She sat down again and picked up the receiver.

"Yes?" she asked into the machine.

"Ann?" came the response, the female voice was distorted by its voyage through the line, but it still seemed familiar.

Ann hesitated a moment before asking, "Mimiru?"

"Hey, you remember me!" came the cheerful reply, "we all thought you'd forgotten about us, you haven't even logged in a moment to say hello"

Them… Mimiru, Crim, BT, and Sora and Silver Knight, even. They had all been her friends in The World. She had forgotten about them, hadn't she? She only ever thought about Subaru, when she had left The World Ann hadn't considered staying around to see if any of them were around. Mimiru had been right that once, inside The World, she was very selfish sometimes.

"I'm… sorry," she said.

"It doesn't matter, I understand. If what happened to you had happened to me I wouldn't touch a computer again in my life!"

Ann stayed silent, not really knowing what to say, until Mimiru realized she wasn't going to say anything and continued.

"We were going to go to Shimokita sometime, remember?"

Yes, she did, now she did, at least.

"Yes"

"So how about this Sunday?"

Why not? She didn't really have anything to do.

"Okay," she said, and then a wonderful idea occurred to her, "hey, Mimiru…"

"Yes?"

"Can… Subaru come too?"

Mimiru seemed to hesitate a moment at the other side of the line, and Ann was afraid she didn't like the idea, but she answered cheerfully.

"Sure! The more the merrier! This Sunday at the Shimokitazawa station at… uhm… three, then?"

"Yes," she hesitated a moment before adding, "thank you"

There was a slight surprised pause at the other end of the line, before Mimiru said, "Well, see you then"

"Yes… goodbye"

And she hung up. She thought a moment and then turned her computer on again, opened the e-mail program and started to write:

_Mariko...___

-----

Mimiru sat on a bench watching people walk one way and the other while she waited, and wondered why exactly she'd come so early. Just because she was here before didn't mean Tsukasa would arrive any earlier. She was so tired of seeing people she didn't even see the small kid that walked up to her until a voice said:

"Mimiru, I suppose?"

The voice sounded strangely familiar, but she couldn't really place it. She looked down at the grinning, black-haired, green-eyed child and couldn't remember seeing him anywhere before.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The grin on his face seemed to widen as he said, "you don't remember me, Mimiru, I'm hurt"

With that, he jumped up onto the bench with a cry of "Boing!" and smirked at her from there.

_"Boing?"_ Then it dawned on her. The voice, the way of talking, the smirk, it all pointed to one person. Of course she hadn't recognized him, she'd never really seen him.

"Sora!"

The boy, still grinning, said, "that's me! My name outside is Yoshi, actually"

"But… how did you know what I looked like?"

The boy looked about as if checking if anyone was listening to them and then leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "it's a secret"

She sighed, knowing she wouldn't get an answer, and instead asked, "what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for our friends Tsukasa and Subaru, of course!"

Now she was really puzzled, surely neither of them had invited him along, and _she_ definitely hadn't.

"How did you know?" she asked.

The mocking grin widened. "It wouldn't be a secret if I told you, would it?" he answered in a playful tone.

She so wanted to have her virtual sword here now in reality to be able to slash at that smirking face.

"I've always wished to meet you in the real world to be able to finally strangle you," she said, probably only half joking.

"What? Hurt an innocent child like me?" he put on such a falsely angelic expression on that she _had_ to laugh. That seemed to please him mightily, and the smirk softened to a smile as he sat down beside her.

"Hey," he said, "do you know what exactly is between those two?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Tsukasa and Subaru, of course. I mean, Subaru was always "Tsukasa…" this and "Tsukasa…" that," his imitation of Subaru's voice was so good she had to laugh, and it was true, now that she looked back at it, Subaru had probably said Tsukasa's name about at least once every few minutes. Seen in hindsight, it was actually quite funny.

"They're just friends, " she answered, "I mean, Tsukasa is a girl in the real world"

"Oh"

They stayed silent for a while. When she saw Yoshi getting restless, she decided to say something before he started clowning about, however.

"You know… sometimes I wish Tsukasa had been a boy," she immediately regretted saying it, Yoshi was deceivingly easy to talk to, and she _knew_ he was going to say something silly…

"What does _he_ have that I don't?" he said, in mock anger.

"Sora!" she complained, but the truth is she had to fight not to giggle. However much the virtual Sora got on her nerves, she found herself liking the real world Yoshi, in an "amusing little brother" sort of way.

She looked up at the sound of an arriving train. She glanced down at her watched and noticed it was just past three o'clock. Maybe they were coming in this one.

  



	4. Shimokitazawa Part 2

**Shimokitazawa**** – Part II**

Mariko looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She knew she was delaying herself, wasting time on purpose. If she continued like this she'd miss the train. Or was that what she wanted? She desperately wanted to see Ann again but, at the same time, she was incredibly afraid. She couldn't shake the doubt from her mind that Ann wouldn't feel the same way for her, the real her, than for Subaru. _Who'd love a crippled sod like _you_, anyway?_ Ann did, she had to believe that, and stop torturing herself. Yet what if-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Strange, she wasn't expecting anyone today. She made her way to the door and opened it. Standing at the door was an auburn-haired girl some two years younger than her, looking at her as if apologizing for being there.

"Ann?" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Good morning" Ann said, being awkwardly polite.

[A/N: Yes, I know "good morning" isn't awfully polite, but what she said would be the Japanese "ohayou gozaimasu", which is. In fact, Ann continues using the polite, -masu form of Japanese while talking to Mariko. To those that don't know about Japanese forms, well… she's just being strangely polite, but I can't really "translate" it]

"What", Mariko asked, "are you doing here?" when she saw the other girl's expression she quickly corrected herself, "not that I don't want you to be here, but…"

"I just thought I could…" Ann nodded meaningfully in the direction of the wheelchair "…help"

"You don't need to-"

"No, it's okay," Ann interrupted, getting behind Mariko and grabbing the handles of the chair, "I don't mind. This way I can… be more time with you"

Mariko smiled and reached back to place her hand gently on Ann's. "I like that"

The younger girl smiled and nodded.

"And… Ann?"

"Yes?"

"You don't have to be so polite"

The younger girl blushed, looking embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I just-"

"I know," she interrupted, "don't worry"

-----

"Hey! You two! Subaru! Tsukasa!" Yoshi called out their online names as he waved them over. Mimiru looked at him, puzzled.

"How did you recognize them?" she asked.

Yoshi smirked. "It's a see-cret," he answered playfully, "how were _you_ going to recognize them, anyway?"

Mimiru paused. She had never thought about that. Yoshi saw her expression and laughed.

"See? Now what would you have done without me, eh? I'm the best!"

Mimiru looked down, too embarrassed at her own lack of planning to tell him to shut up.

"Mimiru?" Ann asked.

Mimru looked up, nodded, and smiled. "Ann, I suppose"

Mariko looked at the young kid curiously. "Your brother?" she asked.

"No way," Mimiru answered, "if I had to live with that every day it wouldn't stay alive for long." Yoshi stuck his tongue out at her from behind her back.

"Then who is-"

"Boing!" he interrupted, jumping from the bench and in front of her. "Don't tell me you don't remember me," he smirked, "_Lady Subaru_"

"Sora!"

"Bingo!" he exclaimed, "Yoshi's the name, actually"

"I always figured you were a kid"

Yoshi didn't like that. He grinned devilishly and said, "I always figured you were a le- hey!"

Muffled protests came from the young boy as Mimiru held her hand over his mouth. "Shush!" she said and grinned apologetically to Mariko. "So you're Su-"

"Mariko," Ann interrupted.

"Oh… yes, of course," she said, slightly taken aback. "It's nice to finally meet you both"

-----

Ann and Mariko were at the back of a big clothes shop. They had got somewhat separated from the other two and there was nobody around, so they were taking advantage of the opportunity, holding hands and talking softly.

"You remember the other day, when we were in The World?" Ann was saying. The older girl nodded and she continued, "I… when I was holding you I almost thought I… _felt_…"

Mariko nodded. "Me too, I don't know how"

The younger girl smiled and said, "it was wonderful, but…"

"But?" Mariko asked, looking slightly worried.

"But… then I was feeling Subaru and, well, I'd like to feel _you_"

The older girl smiled, quickly scanned the surroundings in case anybody was watching, and pulled Ann close.

Yoshi looked at the two girls from behind a line of clothes and grinned. He went up to Mimiru  and pulled on her sleeve. She looked down.

"What do you want?" she asked.

He quickly brought a finger to his lips. "Shh! Quiet," he hissed and pulled her towards where he had been standing before, "come get a look at this"

Mimiru was dragged to where the young boy had been spying on the two and he pointed them out with a grin.

"Just friends, eh?" he said playfully.

Mimiru couldn't believe her eyes, they-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the clang of metal falling on the floor. The three girls stared at a grinning Yoshi, who had just dropped the can of soda he was drinking onto the floor. On purpose, Mimru noticed. Then the two girls looked at her, and she looked back and smiled nervously.

Yoshi, mischevious grin from ear to ear, just said, "Oops"

-----

"So… it doesn't bother you?" Mariko was asking. Ann was standing beside her, holding her hand. Mariko seemed to be doing all the talking, however.

"Well, I…" she paused nervously, "I'm just surprised, that's all… it's not like we'll stop being friends, right?" she looked at Ann meaningfully and repeated, "right?"

She didn't answer, and turned to leave, but Mariko tugged at her arm and looked at her a moment, and she turned back towards Mimiru with a sigh.

"Just promise you wont tell anyone"

Mimiru nodded. Mariko looked at Yoshi. The kid grinned playfully, "well, _maybe_ I can keep a secret…"

"Please?"

There was something in the older girl's look when she said that which made Yoshi take things seriously, if only for a moment. He nodded and said, "I promise"

Mariko looked up at Ann again, and they seemed to converse without exchanging words for a moment, then Mariko turned around again and said, "we should be going"

Mimiru nodded and said goodbye, when they were going off she waved at them vaguely, but they never even looked back. She sighed and glared at Yoshi.

He just grinned and said, "hey, it was fun"


	5. Diary of Tears

_I saw Tsukasa in the real world for the first time, today. She was not like I had expected, but what _had_ I expected, really? I suppose in a way, in a stupid, childish way, I had expected a flesh and blood version of the Tsukasa I knew from The World. Yet I had _known_ it wouldn't be like that, I had_ known_ Ann was a girl. Why does seeing her make it all that different, all that more shocking, all that more real? Why, in spite of my best efforts, do I seem to think like a small child?_

_And _why_ did I ever fall in love with someone that doesn't even _exist_? I don't know when I started feeling the way I do towards Tsukasa, or why, considering he seemed to make me angry more than anything else. But the truth, the stupid, childish truth, was that I have a crush on a computer character. Subaru may have been able to take her feelings outside the game but, for me, Ann is not the same. I suppose I didn't love Tsukasa enough, although I find it difficult to imagine how I could've loved him more. _Him_, yes, _him,_ because I loved _him_, not Ann. How stupid of me to feel this way for some data on a computer somewhere, how childish of me to be jealous of Subaru, of Mariko, not for having her love returned, but for being able to love herself. When we saved Ann, we killed my Tsukasa._

_How stupid, how childish.___

_How true._

Mimiru contemplated the page, some characters blurred by fallen tears, and then carefully closed the small notebook. With trembling hands she picked it up to put it away, but she could control herself no longer, and threw the diary with a scream of pain and rage. She barely heared the sound of it slamming against the wall, for it was all but drowned out by her sobbing.

[A/N]: Short chappie, but necessary for the continuation of the story, now no longer so much a loosely connected collection as a storyline in its own right.


	6. Chorus of Pain

_if__ you are lost in your way_

_deep__ in an awesome story_

She was holding her so close they were almost one being in their embrace. The feeling of having someone so dear to her tightly held like that was indescribable. They didn't need to talk, to say anything. Their very existence seemed to express the love they felt for each other. She felt nothing, nothing in the world, could ever separate them. She was wrong.

_don't__ be in doubt and stray_

_cling__ to your lonesome folly_

She was thrown back, her head slamming against a wall. When she looked up Mariko was no longer anywhere in sight, the only thing that seemed to exist was the figure of her father looming over her, his immense shadow covering her and crawling up the wall. She cowered and felt fear grip her heart like a freezing claw, squeezing out any love and happiness she, in her foolishness had dared to feel. She tried to cry out in protest, or maybe just scream for help, but only a weak whimper escaped her lungs. She felt a tear escape her as he hit her again. He screamed obscenities at her, every ugly, disgusting word that could be used to describe her feelings and relationship with Mariko was used again and again, every word driven home by a painful blow. Another tear escaped, and another, and another, until she could control herself no more and started crying helplessly, as much for the pain in her body as for the pain in her heart. She forced her eyes open, forced herself to look at him, she needed to stand up to him. Yet when she looked at his face she realized.

It was not her old father hitting her.

It was Ryo.

_now__ you're too close to the pain_

_let__ all the rain go further_

Ann sat up in bed with a gasp, cold sweat and tears running down her face. It had only been a dream, a nightmare. She could see her familiar room, dimly illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the window. It had only been a nightmare, not real. Yet, try as she might, she could not the tears, could not stop that paralyzing fear from filling her heart. She hugged herself tightly, looking for any warmth possible. She stayed there like that for a long, long time, with the salty taste of tears in her mouth, a small, vulnerable bundle, illuminated by the silvery light. Then, at last, exhaustion claimed her.

_come__ back and kiss me in vain_

_mother__ oh do not bother_

She heard the phone ringing, but she didn't get up to answer it. Not that she was tired, even though she had barely slept all night, and not very well, at that, but she just didn't feel she could stand up to the world today. She felt weak, scared, vulnerable. She just wanted to stay where she was, protected by her sheets, like a small child scared of the bogeyman, until the whole world just decided to leave her alone. She shoved a cushion over her head to try and drown out the ringing sound.

_hear__ the chorus of pain_

_taking__ you back to proper ways_

Mariko bit her lip in worry as the ringing ran out for the third time. She was finding it impossible to contact Ann in any way. What could have happened to her? She sighed. Until she thought of something better to do, she might as well keep trying to phone her. She dialled the number for the fourth time, and just as she was almost convinced there was just nobody there, it was answered.

"Yes?" Ann sounded tired, her voice hoarse.

"Ann? What happened?" she asked, worried.

"Nothing"

_Yeah, sure,_ she thought.

"Ann, you were supposed to meet me here almost an hour ago!"

"Right, yeah, sure, be right there," the other girl answered apathetically.

"Ann, _what's the matter?_"

_Click._

_it's__ so easy to find_

_if__ you could remind me_

When Mariko caught sight of Ann it did nothing to alleviate her worries. The younger girl looked dishevelled and barely awake. She quickly moved over to her, but when she got too close the other stepped back. She stopped, surprised.

"Ann, what happened? What's the matter?" Mariko asked.

Ann mumbled a response she couldn't hear.

"Ann?"

"Bad dream," she muttered slightly louder.

She looked at Ann, incredulous. "Ann, you look awful, you-"

"I'm sorry," the other interrupted.

She sighed, and thought a moment, hazarding a guess. "About your father?"

Ann nodded slowly, and then explained hesitantly. "Not… only about him, about us, too… and about Ryo"

"Ann, it's okay, it was only a-"

"I'm sorry," she interrupted again.

_now__ you are lost in your way_

_deep__ in an awesome story_

"It's all right, go on, come here," she said, trying to be comforting. and pulled Ann gently toward her to hug her. The younger girl was almost a dead weight, all the strength drained out of her body. Mariko held her tight, gently wiping a few tears from her face and smiling at her as reassuringly as she could manage.

"It's okay, Ann," she said, "cry all you want,

I'll be right here"

_so__ I will find you again_

_kiss__ you for lonesome folly_


End file.
